Alexander or Aleksandr Peresvet (Russian: Александр Пересвет; died 8 September 1380) was a Russian Orthodox monk who fought in single combat with the Tatar champion Temir-Mirza,[a][2] known in most Russian sources as Chelubey,[1] at the opening of the Battle of Kulikovo on 8 September 1380.[3] The two men killed each other.[4]
Peresvet is believed to have hailed from the Bryansk area,[5][6] and to have taken the monastic habit at the Monastery of Saints Boris and Gleb in Rostov. He moved to the monastery in Pereslavl-Zalessky, in the service of Dmitry Donskoy.[7] He later moved to the Trinity Lavra where he became a follower of Sergius of Radonezh. Alexander and his friend Rodion Oslyabya joined the Russian troops set out to fight the Tatars under the leadership of Mamai.
The battle of Kulikovo was opened by single combat between the two champions. The Russian champion was Alexander Peresvet. The champion of the Golden Horde was Temir-Mirza, known in most Russian sources as Chelubey. The champions killed each other in the first charge. According to a Russian legend, Peresvet did not fall from the saddle, while Temir-Mirza did.
Peresvet's body, together with that of his brother-in-arms Rodion Oslyabya, was brought to Moscow. The two men were buried at the 15th-century Theotokos Church in Simonov Monastery.